SA Government Compensates Man Wrongly Imprisoned For Two Decades

But some say it's not enough.

Supporters of Adelaide man Henry Keogh say a $2.57 million State Government payment, for his wrongful imprisonment, is grossly inadequate.

He spent 20 years in jail after being found guilty of the 1994 drowning murder of his fiance Anna Jane Cheney, a conviction which was finally overturned in 2014.

Keogh was freed from prison and the charges were formally dropped in 2015, when the Director of Public Prosecution opted against a retrial.

Today the South Australian Government announced a compensation agreement has been reached.

Keogh was found guilty of the 1994 drowning murder of his fiance Anna Jane Cheney.

Attorney General Vickie Chapman said the sum was appropriate to mitigate further financial risk for the state.

“There has been a miscarriage of justice, a man has spent nearly 20 years in prison, that is a situation that must be addressed.

“There will be some in the community that take the view that this settlement is an amount that is hardly adequate for a person that has spent 20 years in prison in respect to a conviction that has been quashed.

“On the other hand there are those in the community who take the view that Mr Keogh should not receive one cent.

“This is a settlement which we hope will conclude this sorry chapter in SA's legal history.

“There is no winner in this case ”, she said.

But those who have supported Keogh during the decades he spent in prison say he should be awarded a lot more for everything he’s been through and the time he’s lost.